Description

The Spitfire Mk IIa is a Rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB) and 3.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.35.

For those who don't historically know much about the Spitfire, in 1941 in the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire flew to intercept enemy fighters because of its speed and agility- the Hurricanes were sent to destroy Heinkel Bombers. This same logic can be applied to War Thunder Realistic Battles- the Spitfire should first climb, using its excellent rate-of-climb, then intercept high patrolling fighters, if possible, bringing them lower. The Spitfire is fast, with a top speed around 600km/h, although in a straight line, it normally reaches around 460km/h. Do not head-on in the Spitfire- it can destroy the engine and the gun convergence won't help at all- avoid head-ons and go for turn fights. A sensible opponent will try to energy fight the Spitfire- to avoid destruction, climb quickly away from them, then dart back into their trajectory arc, normally underneath them; the Spitfire can do that, since it has good lift rate- eventually, either the opponent will miss and overshoot, allowing the Spitfire to destroy them, or will dive, which the Spitfire can follow, but be careful- the Spitfire will wing rip at around 500 km/h or less, so don't pull too hard or the wings will fly away...

The Spitfire has a relatively good ammo count- the 4-digit ammo can be deceiving, since there are 8 guns on the aircraft, making only around 400 rpg- these can be used to ground attack light or unarmoured targets, usually with stealth or omni-purpose belts, but this job should be left to dedicated gun-platforms, like the Hurricane and Hellcat

Quick kills against large bombers without a pilot snipe is difficult, prolonged engagements expose the Spitfire to the defensive gunners

Machine guns cannot penetrate heavily armoured targets

Bad high altitude performance

Roll rate stiffens dramatically at ~350 km/h

Pulling negative G's and rolling the plane (Realistic/simulator only) can cause the carburettor (engine) to fail

History

In-game description

"The Supermarine Spitfire was a British fighter which served with various nations from the late 1930s up into the 1950s. It was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. Various modifications served as fighters, interceptors, high-altitude fighters, fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. A total of some 20,300 Spitfires of all types were built during the war, including two-seater trainers.

In the summer of 1939, an early Spitfire Mk I was fitted with the new Rolls Royce Merlin XII engine, which had a higher output of 1175 HP and was fitted with a Coffman engine starter instead of the previous Merlin’s electrical starter system. This, combined with the Rotol variable pitch propeller which had been used on many Spitfire Mk Is would now form the powerplant of the new Spitfire Mk II, although some production models used the De Havilland propeller. The Mk II was some 6-7 mph faster than the later Spitfire Mk I, but still slower than the original Spitfires before a series of modifications increased the aircraft’s weight. As with the Mk I, the Spitfire Mk II was produced with either eight machine guns as the Spitfire Mk IIA, or two 20mm cannon and four machine guns as the Mk IIb. The earlier problems with cannon fitted to the Mk IB had now been solved by introducing a belt feed system to the weapon to replace the earlier drum, turning the cannon on its side and fitting a blister on the wing to house the new mechanism.

920 Spitfire Mk IIs entered service; 750 Mk IIA and 170 MK IIB, although fighters used in the air-sea rescue role were later designated Mk IIC. The Spitfire II quickly replaced the Spitfire I, with the older variant being relegated to use in Operational Training Units. By April 1941, RAF Fighter Command had completed re-equipping with the Mk II, although this too would soon be replaced by the Mk V."